So much average

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film takes place circa 1951 and centers on Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) a film producer for Capitol Films. He is faced with a number of issues which he must solve while trying to give up smoking. His main headache is Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) the star of his epic film "Hail Caesar." He has been kidnapped and ransomed by a communist cell during film production. Meanwhile he he forced to miscast cowboy star Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) who can't act in a societal comedy/drama.The feature spoofs the gloss and crap that came from that era as films had a monopoly on entertainment. We see a Carmen Miranda type (Veronica Osorio), Channing Tatum dancing like Gene Kelly in "Anchors Away"; Scarlett Johansson as Esther Williams in "Million Dollar Mermaid" and George Clooney plays a Richard Burton type in "The Robe." Hobie Doyle was a generic singing cowboy with a "Gabby Hayes" sidekick.The Coen film holds some enjoyment for those familiar with the era. There were some good exchanges such as the theological debate and Jonah Hill taking about being a professional person-hood. It comically shows the Hollywood 10 black listed doing unorthodox things. The main problem with this feature is that it is a Coen Brothers film, so the bar has been set Raising Arizona high. If this was a new director/writer they would be hailed as genius.Guide: No F-words, sex, or nudity.

Before I die, I'd like someone to explain to me why the Coens are so revered. This offering, I grant you, lacks the usual scenes of sadism they like toss in. But that's pretty much all it's got going for it. First off, there's no story. None, and Clooney's being seduced by commie screenwriters is not a story. Then...what decade is this? Brolin uses a 1930s phone, the musical numbers are MGM late 1940s, and there's a singing cowboy star who would not be a star in the 1940s. THEN - the pastiche numbers. I've seen lots of Gene Kelly/sailor dancing films. Basically, I kept waiting for a movie to start. One never did.

The premise for 'Hail, Caesar!' sounds more "meta" than it is - a film studio in the 1950's making a Roman/Jesus epic called 'Hail Caesar' and starring Whitlock (Clooney), the biggest Hollywood star. The film works as a tribute to classic movie-making, with Brolin playing Mannix, the head of "Capitol Studios", trying to keep his sometime wayward stars in check.The film nails the choreography and massive scale the soundstages had, especially with Johansson's mermaid scene and Tatum's tap-dancing sailor scene. Surprise - he can also sing! Probably the funniest moment is new guy Doyle (Ehrenreich)'s cowboy scene and stunts. Unfortunately, there's no real plot other than Clooney getting kidnapped by kind Communists - doesn't really go anywhere.Fiennes, Johansson, Hill, Tatum & McDormand all don't have enough screen time. The score is good and there's some jokes, although most of them are more like a sly wink to the audience - definitely not the Coen's best work! The score's good and Clooney and Tatum both ham it up, but I definitely felt underwhelmed afterwards.

A rambling shaggy dog story set in Hollywood of the 1950's ... a movie star (George Clooney) is kidnapped off the set of a Biblical epic he's starring in. There are a couple of distinct but related subplots, and all of it ties back to studio exec Josh Brolin trying to put out all the fires while considering a better job offer from Lockheed. Every once in a while, the Coens make a film simply because it amuses them and allows them to exercise their love of classic Hollywood. This is one of those. They stage multiple scenes from films being made by this studio ... musicals, westerns, comedies, epics ... and each is a meticulously recreated pastiche of a 50's film. If you're on their wavelength, it's immensely rewarding. If you're not, it's a bunch of stars gathered together for a plot that ultimately goes almost nowhere. I'm in the first camp ... I loved this.